In what may signal USA’s improved military relationship with India, one of the world’s largest nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz, is all set to dock in the Chennai port next week.
The ship, currently in the Gulf, is likely to arrive at Chennai on July 1 and dock there for four days. A team of top navy officials have already arrived in Chennai for making the arrangements.
A super-carrier with 90 fighters and helicopters on board, Nimitz departed from San Diego on April 2 on a six-month deployment in the Arabian Sea, relieving the USS Eisenhower.
The likely arrival of the ship has created a political storm in the communist circle, with CPM Rajya Sabha member Sitaram Yechury questioning the government’s motive in allowing the ship to anchor at an Indian port.
“New Delhi's principled position has been that no facilities in the country should be extended to nuclear warships. We would like to know what compulsions the government had in taking such a decision,” Mr. Yechury said, adding that left parties were not consulted by the government before taking the decision.  Reacting to the left leader’s comment, Defence Minister A K Antony said it (arrival of foreign military ships) was nothing new and a part of New Delhi’s efforts to expand defence cooperation “with important nations”.
USS Nimitz had come close to the Indian shore in 2005 when it participated in the annual Indo-USA Malabar series exercise off Goa coast, sources said.
 The Malabar series is considered a key exercise for the anti-submarine warfare training for the USA Pacific fleet. US nuclear power submarines also participate in the exercise.
In fact, the arrival of the  French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Arabian Sea in 2002 actually led to a controversy. 
According to several reports, Rafale fighters flew from the deck of the French carrier to patrol the Indian-Pakistan border. However, the exact nature and purpose of those flights are still not known.
Despite that controversy, Charles de Gaulle participated in the annual Indo-French naval exercise named Varuna in March last year.